Clegg under pressure to expel David Ward over Gaza tweet

David Ward unapologetic over apparent endorsement of Gaza rocket attacks

Nick Clegg is under pressure to expel a Liberal Democrat MP who has said he would fire a rocket at Israelis.

David Ward, the MP for Bradford East, appeared to endorse Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli towns last night. He wrote on Twitter: "The big question is - if I lived in #Gaza would I fire a rocket? - probably yes".

He added: "Ich bin ein #palestinian - the West must make up its mind - which side is it on?"

This morning he refused to apologise, saying critics were climbing on an “anti-Semitism bandwagon”.

“I’m saying I understand why people are so desperate that they are doing it,” he told the BBC, adding he had previously condemned rocket fire.

“This is supposedly about the security of Israel. Why is it insecure? Why is it under threat? It’s because of the occupation. So what do we do? We have a ceasefire, a so-called ceasefire, where there isn’t rockets being fired out of Gaza, and then what? We go back to a situation where there’s a brutal oppression of the Palestinians and we call that peace.”

A spokesman for Nick Clegg said he “utterly condemns” the comments. The party is treating it as a disciplinary matter.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews, which represents the community in Britain, said Mr Ward had "shamed parliament" and said Nick Clegg must suspend him. It pointed out the EU had described the firing of rockets as "criminla and unjustifiable."

A spokesman said: "Ward has once again shamed Parliament, the Liberal Democrats and himself.

"We welcome the unequivocal condemnation of Ward's statement by Nick Clegg but his words must now be underpinned by action and the party whip withdrawn permanently."

David Gauke, a Conservative Treasury minister, replied on Twitter: "Question for @DavidWardMP. In firing your rockets into Israel, how many Jews would you hope to kill?"

Grant Shapps, the Conservative Chairman, said the comments were “appalling” and “completely irresponsible”.

Labour said the comments were “vile” and “desperate”.

This morning Edward McMillan-Scott, a former Liberal Democrat MEP who lost his job in May’s elections, defended Mr Ward, saying the Board of Deputies is “a frightful bag of disputatious Jews”.

"David Ward can look after himself. The @BoardofDeputies is a frightful bag of disputatious Jews and the editor of the @JewishChron is a prat,” he wrote on Twitter.

He later apologised on Twitter and denied he is anti-Semitic. The Board responded, saying the apology was "wholly inadequate" and said the comments left them "deeply concerned".

Mr Ward was suspended by the Liberal Democrats last year after he "questioned the continuing existence of Israel".

That related to a Tweet which read: "Am I wrong or are am I right? At long last the Zionists are losing the battle - how long can the apartheid State of Israel last?"

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat chief whip, said he had failed to live “proportionate and precise” language.

He had previously been criticised after referring to the Israeli government as “the Jews”.

He wrote on his website that he was "saddened that the Jews, who suffered unbelievable levels of persecution during the Holocaust, could within a few years of liberation from the death camps, be inflicting atrocities on Palestinians in the new State of Israel and continue to do so on a daily basis in the West Bank and Gaza".